The Minnesota Twins home opener is finally here. In a few hours, fans will gather for another year of outdoor baseball and cheer on their team in the presence of sunshine and fresh air. Before heading off to the game, keep in mind these sun safety tips for outdoor sporting from Dermatologist Dr. Jaime Davis.

“I wanted to talk to you today about sun protection for sporting events. We have this beautiful new open air stadium in Minneapolis and we are hearing all manner of sunburn stories coming out of that. So, I wanted to talk to you about a couple of basic things you can do to keep yourslef safe from the sun.

1.) SUNSCREEN. Don’t forget the sunscreen. I think you can actually get it at guest services there, so ask for it if you do forget it. But a nice high SPF, go for a 60 or higher because you are going to be sitting outdoors for hours and the SPF number tells you how long that product is going to work for. So a 15 will work half as long as a 30 which will work half as long as a 60 which means get the 60. And don’t forget lip protection too, a nice physical sunscreen for the lips.

2.) HAT. Hats are great; however, you can do a little better job depending on the type of hat you choose. Baseball caps in general offer great sun protection for the face but we see baseball cap wearers who have a lot of sun damage from the nose down, and the tops of their ears are very sun damaged, and the backs of their necks. You don’t get enough sun protection from a baseball cap alone. If you get one with a nice flap that extends down back over the neck, covers the ears, you’re still going to have some exposure on the sides but that’s where your sunscreen’s going to come in handy. Also, the weave of the fabric, you want a nice tight weave like this. You don’t necessarily want a mesh top because that does not provide sunscreen and we see often times lots of sun damage on the tops of heads of people who are baseball cap wearers – but they don’t wear the right weave of a fabric. You need a nice long bill, you sometimes see little short ones, and you need a nice long bill on that cap.

3.) SUNGLASSES. The other thing is sunglasses. Because of the bright light you’re going to need a little protection for your eyes because your eyes can be sun damaged over time too. You’ll need a lens that is UVB and UVA screening, not just a tinted lens, because that can actually do more harm than good.

Always remember to be SunAWARE!”

Dermatologist Dr. Jaime Davis
Uptown Dermatology
Minneapolis, MN

Disclaimer: The information provided by Coolibar and its contributors is general skin care information and should not be a substitute for obtaining medical advice from your physician and is not intended to diagnose or treat any specific medical problem.

Outdoor Stadium at Target Field - Don't forget a Hat, Sunglasses and Sunscreen!